General Questions

[gardenstatejc]

Hello Guys, I am a mechanic shop owner and looking to expand my business with my tow truck. I signed up for some motor clubs and have been doing some work for them for about a month now. I just wanted to reach out and see what were some common uncharges you guys send to these companies? Use of ramps, soft straps, etc. Any insight would be appreciated!

 

Thanks

[GRUMPS The Towman]

Hello and welcome to the forums. As far as up charges and the mighty motor clubs go, If you use it, you can charge for it. In theory. But, If you have signed a contract with them, You will have to read through it with a fine tooth comb to make sure your allowed to do so. Some clubs require you to call them to make adjustments to equipment BEFORE you use it. This can obviously be a time-consuming and aggravating venture if your in the middle of doing a tow. 

Now, I will admit, I am probably not the best person to really help answer this question Namely because I no longer have any motor club contracts and any work I do perform for them is treated as a cash customer with full rates paid up front via c.c. . You being a repair shop and using your truck as a supplement income then maybe doing some contracted club work is the way to go. If you look through some of the motor club posts on this forum you will see my reasoning ( and alot of other towers on here too) for not doing any contracted work for them. 

So, long story short, read your contract carefully. I am sure they touch on the subject in there somewhere. Good luck Sir.

[Stubborn66]

Good Morning, Welcome

I too am a repair shop that has expanded the use of my trucks with the clubs.  I started by taking the calls on a credit card basis and it has grown from there.  I now have three clubs that I have contract with and I still take calls from the other clubs on a credit card basis.  So far, so good for my company.  It has provided extra work when the trucks would be sitting.  It has almost gotten me to a point where I can bring on a guy full time in the shop.  I also like the after hours calls, they do not interfere with the day to day in the shop as much but it does expand the hours I am working.  I am probably running 10 - 15 calls a week for the clubs in addition to my other truck work.  That is good for me.  I have seen very little additional work come to my shop through the club work.  I also don't expect any loyalty from the clubs, they train their dispatchers to get the club member service at the lowest possible cost to them period.  It can be a good addition but I would not go out and buy a truck just for club work.

 

Grumps is correct, there are a lot of posts on here, I took the time to read many of them to get an idea of what others have experienced.  There is definitely a lot of good and bad comments on the subject of clubs.  Grumps had also told me " don't get excited when you see the big checks, make sure you are making money". 

You really need to know what is cost you per mile to run a truck.  My trucks were always an additional service to my shop customers and I felt the shop "carried" the trucks.  If you are going to put more work on the trucks, you need to account more for the expense of the trucks.  What is your cost per mile for fuel, License and Insurance, maintenance, driver pay (even if it is you), what is a reasonable profit after expenses.  It takes a little to figure that stuff out. 

 

If you are going to get into contract with the clubs, the first thing to remember is that the rates are negotiable, but, if there is a lot of competition in your area it is tough to get a good rate.  If you have already signed, that ship may have sailed.  As far as up charges, you can request charges for anything you do but getting them to approve AFTER the fact is tough.  You need to get approval before you do any extra work for them to get them to pay.

 

Good Luck

 

 

[TowZone]

It's now been One Year... How has the expansion into the Tow Business progressed?

[Stubborn66]

It would be nice to know how he is making out.

[gardenstatejc]

Hey so sorry I never got back, I am on the site reading frequently and never saw that I got responses. I was doing pretty well for awhile, still have just the one truck but I am not at a standstill. The truck is profitable but not by much. I finally got 2 solid drivers but have found that the price of gas this past year really ate at any profit. I still tow for motor clubs but have been seeing exactly what a lot of people have been saying about them on here. I also find that with my area especially, the competition is tough to garnish up regular customers, even getting them to tow to my shop. Most insurances offer roadside so they opt for that. I am not ready to give it up just yet. I am trying to find maybe some other avenues to generate money with it. Thanks for checking up on me!